Extensive rezoning of E.Village/LES approved

Proposed East Village/Lower East Side rezoning. Image: NYC Department of City Planning.

Council approved plan after City agreed to work with interest groups on related zoning and development issues. On November 19, 2008, the City Council approved the City’s plan to rezone 111 blocks in the East Village and Lower East Side of Manhattan. The plan calls for seven new zoning districts, including a 59-block residential area which would be rezoned to R8B, a category … <Read More>


Commission modifies 125th Street rezoning plan

Building heights and densities reduced along Harlem’s primary thoroughfare. In an effort to preserve the scale and character of Harlem’s 125th Street, the City Planning Commission approved a text amendment on October 7, 2008 that lowers building heights and reduces densities for residential, commercial, and community facility uses. The affected area is located on the north side of West 125th Street between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and a point 545 ft. east of Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X … <Read More>


Commission modifies rezoning plan for LIC’s Dutch Kills

Proposed Dutch Kills Rezoning. Rezoning Map used with permission of the New York City Department of City Planning. All rights reserved.

FAR increased for certain uses after Community Board and Borough President raised concern over proposed limits on commercial and industrial growth. On September 8, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved, with one modification, the Department of City Planning’s proposed rezoning and text amendment for the Dutch Kills area of Long Island City, Queens.

The … <Read More>


Avella lays over vote on Hospital expansion plan

Hospital seeking loading-berth waiver and access to esplanade for placement of support columns. On September 16, 2008, the City Council’s Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee held a public hearing concerning the Hospital for Special Surgery’s applications for special permits to construct a three-story addition to its East Wing building and a 12- story outpatient center atop a 21-ft. high platform over the FDR Drive between East 71st Street and the mid-block line of 72nd Street. The … <Read More>


Council OKs air rights transfer from Seagram Building

Lord Norman Foster design approved. On August 14, 2008, the City Council approved the special permit and zoning text amendment proposed by Aby Rosen, developer of a 63-story hotel and residential building at 610 Lexington Avenue, adjacent to the Seagram Building. The special permit grants a transfer of development rights from the landmarked Seagram Building, and the text amendment allows, in part, height and setback modifications by way of special permit and an accessory … <Read More>


Additional disclosure required of applicants

New rule requires applicants to submit Doing Business Data Form. The Department of City Planning recently enacted a rule requiring the submission of an additional disclosure form with each new ULURP and zoning text amendment application. The rule stems from Local Law 34 of 2007, the campaign finance reform law, which mandates that City agencies maintain a database of all companies, their principal officers and owners, and certain senior managers that engage in business dealings … <Read More>